Senate panel approves Albany-area federal prosecutor

Richard Hartunian just moved one step closer to becoming a federal prosecutor for New York.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian

The Senate Judiciary Committee this morning unanimously approved Hartunian’s nomination to be a U.S. attorney for the northern district of New York. His nomination now heads to the full Senate, which could vote to confirm him by mid-February.

For almost a dozen years, Hartunian has served as an assistant U.S. attorney and focused on combating drug trafficking. Before that, he was an assistant district attorney in Albany.

Hartunian’s nomination had been praised by Schumer, a member of the judiciary panel, as committed to “justice and the safety of the people of New York state.”

On Thursday, Schumer called Hartunian “a class act who will be a hard working, intelligent and effective U.S. attorney.”